Eric Church Bests Himself

At Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Friday (May 26), the last thing Eric Church did before he hit the stage was toast to setting a new attendance record at the venue.

Moments before launching into the nearly four-hour show, he met with Music Row colleagues, family and friends for a shot backstage to celebrate attracting a record-breaking 18,996 fans to night one of his two-night finale of his Holdin’ My Own Tour. The previous record holders were Bon Jovi when the band drew 18,514 fans to the Bridgestone in February.

Church bested himself with Saturday’s (May 27) closer. According to Nashville’s Tennessean, the night drew 19,020 fans to the arena, and the show went on until a little past midnight. The set list included The Allman Brothers classic “Midnight Rider,” which was performed in tribute to Gregg Allman. The rock legend died at his home in Savannah, Georgia on Saturday (May 27).

During “Jack Daniels,” when Church met friends for a shot at a makeshift mini bar, Kenny Chesney was standing there waiting to have a drink with his former tour mate. The two acts toured together in 2013 on Chesney’s No Shoes Nation Tour.